Vocaloid: The Last of Us
by Elli-Kagami
Summary: A father is hit hard in the face by reality as the rise of infected approach. Twenty years after the loss of his daughter, he sets off with only one original goal. This goal leads him into many different opportunities, adventures and decisions. Rated M for language and violence.
1. Prologue - Making A Start

_**Hello everybody! Welcome to my latest FanFiction in production. You see, I just finished watching a play through of the latest hit game, The Last of Us. For those of you who have seen it, you'll know how emotional this game is. I nearly cried so many times during this game it's unbelievable. Now, I've been thinking... I know this is kind of ripping off the game in a way, but I wanted to do a Vocaloid version of it. I know it sounds weird and stuff, but I just want to share the transformation of a game into a detailed story, if you get what I mean. So yeah... If you don't like these kinds of stories, as in where they get changed from original to OC/Vocaloid or whatever, then please don't come near here. I don't want any criticism and I'm doing this solely for my friend Kat, who wants me to write this fiction out. I don't care what the rest of you have to say about it. If you have negative reviews, then I won't respond to them. This is for Kat only, and I guess for other people who want to read this. Now before we start, I wanna do a review of what I thought of the game without boring you guys too much. If you don't want to spoil the story, then skip this author's note completely because this will contain some major spoilers, I suppose. So, on we go with my review!**_

_**For a start... How the game started - That was nicely done. Just this prologue made you feel an emotional attachment to the characters (or a start of an attachment). Going onto another point, I think it's cruel how nearly every character dies. I mean, what else do you expect in a zombie apocalypse game? Deaths, yeah, but... Like... Everybody freaking dies. Everybody! We're introduced to Sarah - She dies. We're introduced to Tess - She dies! We're introduced to Ellie - Fuck, I'm surprised that girl lived. We're introduced to Marlene - She dieees! We're introduced to Robert - He dies! Well technically, that ass deserves to die... Anyway. We're introduced to Henry and Sam - They both die! The only characters that don't die are Joel and Ellie. I guess in the long run it's meant to be only them two ever, but still... I don't get why Tess had to die. Moving on from that rant of mine... Let's skip ahead to the near-death experience Joel has. My actual god. Tears were nearly shed. When Ellie stabbed the shit out of David... That nearly made me cry, too. The ending was very emotional too. Like, how Joel selfishly saved his 'replacement' (you could say) daughter who could have saved humanity, but I... Well, I understand where he's coming from. He lost Sarah, and he survived twenty painful years without a daughter and when he bonded with Ellie, she was his new daughter in a way. I dunno. It's just depressing.**_

_**Okay, I've blabbed on long enough. One last thing: I loved the freaking graphics in this game. They were so flawless; so beautiful. Everything was amazingly designed in this game and I love everybody who worked on it. This story will contain a lot of language and zombie/human deaths, described in detail. I hope you enjoy, and welcome to...**_

**The Last Of Us**

Tick...tock...tick...tock...tick...tock...

A young girl moves softly in her sleep. "Big Al, I- Big Al. Big Al, listen to me. He is the contractor. He's the contractor okay? I can't lose this job." A middle-aged man, the age of a father to a teenage girl, is talking on his phone in the living room, presumably late at night. "I understand... Let's talk about this in the morning, okay?" He hangs up the phone and flicks on the lamp. The young girl wakes up and yawns.

"Hey," she greets.

"Scoot," her father gently says. The girl sits up and moves along so her father can sit next to her on the couch.

"Fun day at work, huh?" she asks. He heaves a sigh.

"What are you still doin' up?" he questions, ignoring her previous statement. "It's late."

"Oh crud! What time is it?" She quickly looks up at the clock above her. _11:49pm._

"It's way past your bed time," her father replies.

"But it's still today," she smartly says. She dives off the couch to get something.

"Honey, please not right now. I do not have the energy for this." She finds whatever she was looking for, and goes back over to the couch next to her father.

"Here." She presents to him a dark-cream coloured, small box.

"What's this?" he wonders, taking it from her.

"Your birthday." Her father smiles at her, curious to find out what it is. He pulls off the lid slowly, peeking inside the box. "You kept complaining about your broken watch... So I figured... You know." He puts on the watch and looks at it. "You like it?" He messes around with it, tapping it and looking at it confused.

"Honey, this is..."

"What?"

"It's nice, but I-" He taps it and puts it against his ear. "I think it's stuck. It's not-"

"What?" she interrupts. "No, no, no, no." She grabs his wrist and looks at the watch. After a couple of seconds, she playfully shoves his wrist down. "Oh, ha ha." She flops down and lies on the couch. He smiles and looks at his watch once more.

"Where did you get the money for this?" he asks.

"Drugs," she jokes. "I sell hardcore drugs."

"Oh good. You can start helping out with the mortgage then," he replies, getting in on the joke. He flicks on the TV and presses buttons on the remote.

"Pssh - yeah, you wish."

**...**

The young girl is now asleep. Her father stands up and comes in front of her. He lifts her up gently, trying not to wake her as he does so. In a position in which a saviour knight rescues a Princess and carries her, the man makes his way upstairs to her bedroom. He sets her down on her bed and moves a stray bit of his daughter's fringe out of her eyes and to the side. "Goodnight, baby girl." He leaves the room silently.

A little later on, the young girl is woken up by the phone ringing in her room. She sleepily gets up and grabs the phone. She presses the 'accept call' button and holds it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Rinny, honey. I need you to get your daddy on the phone."

"U-Uncle Al? What time is it?" asks the girl, now identified as Rin.

"I need to talk to your dad now. There's some-" The phone cuts off before Rin's uncle can finish his sentence.

"Uncle Al? Hello?" she tries. She puts the phone back on its stand. She sits on the edge of her bed and stands up. She rubs her eye with the back of her hand. "What was all that about...?" Rin walks around her room, and her eye catches a birthday card. "Ah dang it. I forgot to give this to him." She sighs and opens the door to her bedroom and heads through the corridor. "Dad? Daddy?" Rin calls. As she walks down the stairs, a loud bang noise could be heard. "Uhh... What was that?" Rin walks through the room and more suspicious sounds follow; police car sirens. Rin walks through the kitchen and hears the buzzing noise of a phone against a table. "There's his phone..." She walks up to it and picks it up. She switches on the screen to see several missed calls and text messages from her uncle, Big Al, to her father. "8 missed calls? _Where the hell are you?...Call me?...On my way?..._" Rin puts the phone down, getting more and more worried by the second. She pushes open the doors to another room which had in the opening to outside of her house and several other things. Her father suddenly rushes in and slides the glass door shut. "There you are!"

"Rin! Are you okay?" he asks, seeming to be in a panic. His voice is shaky; his breath trembling.

"Yeah..." she replies, confused at his state of panic.

"Has anyone come in here?" he continues.

"No... Who would come in here?" she asks.

"Don't go near the doors," he demands. "Just... Just stand back there." Rin acquiesces her father's order, and moves back a few steps. However, she is still confused. She wants to know what is going on.

"Dad, you're kinda freaking me out," she comments. "What's going on?"

"It's them down the street. You know, Yuu and everybody. Somethin' ain't right with 'em... I think they're sick."

"What kind of sick?" she asks. Just as she asks that, a person jumps near the door.

"Jesus!" he hisses. "Yuu!" Rin's father grabs a gun immediately.

"Dad?"

"Honey, c'mere. C'mere." Rin's dad puts her behind him as a barrier of protection. "Yuu. Yuu, just stay back!" This Yuu character ignores the demands of Rin's father and smashes through the glass door.

"Ah!" Rin gasps. Yuu is lying on the ground, preparing to come towards Rin and her father. He's covered in blood and isn't in a very good-looking state.

"Yuu, I am warning you!" he snaps.

"Oh my god..." Rin whispers. Yuu gets up and runs towards the two of them.

"Don't!" Rin's father pulls the trigger of the gun and gets Yuu right in the stomach, just as he was inches away from reaching them. Rin whimpers, terrified. "Go. Go!" Rin is dragged along by her father holding her by the wrist. He pulls her aside and lets go of her.

"You...You shot him..." Rin says, shaking all over.

"Rin."

"I saw him this mornin'-"

"Listen to me," he interrupts. "There is something bad going on. We have got to get outta here. Do you understand me?" Rin sniffs, trying to control her tears.

"Yeah."

"Big Al... C'mon." He takes Rin's hand and begins to run at a fast speed out of the back of the house. He opens the door and is greeted by Big Al there with his car.

"Where the hell you been? You have any idea what's goin' on out there?" asks Big Al, sounding very impatient.

"I got some notion," Rin's father sighs. They walk to Big Al's car and get in.

"Holy shit, you got blood all over you."

"C'mon baby, go on in there." Rin once again does as she's told and gets in the car when her father opens the back door for her. "It ain't mine, let's just get out of here." He directs that last comment to his brother. Rin sat in the car, waiting to go.

"They're saying that half the people in the city have lost their minds," Big Al says.

"Can we just please go?" Rin's father asks. He gets in the right side of the front and Big Al gets in the left side to drive.

"Some sort of parasite or somethin'," Big Al continues. "You gonna tell me what happened?" While talking, Big Al prepares to start driving.

"Later."

"Hey, Rin," Big Al greets. "How you holdin' up, honey?"

"I'm fine," Rin replies. Big Al starts driving properly. "Can we hear what's on the radio?"

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Thanks..." Rin says. Big Al turns on the radio, only to hear faint buzzing and beeping.

"No radio, no cellphone... Yeah, we're doing great," Big Al sarcastically comments. "Minute ago, newsman wouldn't shut up."

"They say where to go?" Rin's father asks.

"He said, uh... Army's puttin' up road blocks on the highway. No gettin' into Travis County."

"That means we need to get the hell out. Take 71."

"71," Big Al repeats, seconds after his brother finishes his sentence. "That's where I'm headed." He pauses the car to let by police cars, then turns to the right.

"Did they say how many are dead?" Rin asks.

"Probably a lot. Found this one family all mangled up inside their house-"

"Al," his brother interrupts, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from talking. Al sighs.

"Sorry." He takes a turn to the left, following round a curve in the road. Silence falls for a little while. There are several things in the way, even a white car that seems to have smashed into a tree, judging by its breaking off door and dents all over.

"Jesus Christ, how did this happen...?" Rin's father mumbles, shocked at the sight.

"They got no clue. But we ain't the only town," Big Al replies. He takes a turn to the left and continues on down the road. "At first they were saying it was just the South." A little bit up the road, in the distance, there is a burning building. "Now they're going on about the East Coast, the West Coast..." Al comes in clear sight of the burning building. "Holy hell."

"That's Gumo's farm," Rin's father says. Rin looks out of the window, in shock.

"I hope that son of a bitch made it out," Big Al responds.

"I'm sure he did." Rin continues to look until they pass it completely.

"Are we sick?" she asks, worrying.

"No. No, of course not," her father reassuringly replies.

"How do you know?" Rin wonders.

"They said it's just ah, people in the city. We're good."

"Didn't Yuu work in the city?" Rin asks, letting her curiosity and worry get the better of her. There was silence for a couple of seconds.

"That's right, he did..." her father sighs.

"We're fine. Trust me," Big Al adds.

"...Alright." There was some more silence, until a few people were on the side of the road, signalling for help.

"Let's see what they need," Big Al says.

"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" Rin's father asks. "Keep drivin'."

"They got a kid, Kiyoteru."

"So do we!" replies Rin's father, now identified as Kiyoteru.

"But we have room," Rin interrupts.

"Hey!" one of the people signals, waving their arms.

"Keep drivin', Al," Kiyoteru demands.

"Hey, stop!" they repeat. "Stop!" They sound desperate, but Big Al still continues to drive.

"You ain't seen what I seen," Kiyoteru says, once they pass the group of people. "Someone else'll come along."

"We shoulda helped them..." Rin mutters, feeling guilty. They keep silent again, until the sounds of police car sirens are heard. They drive along, only to see traffic in front of them. Lots of traffic. It seems as though everybody else in the city wants to do the same as Kiyoteru, Rin and Big Al. _Escape. _

"Oh, this is bad," Kiyoteru mumbles. "Everyone and their mother had the same damn idea!"

"Well-... We could just backtrack and-"

"Hey, what the fuck, man? Let's go!" interrupts a shout of a man on the road. Rin looks out of the window, feeling tension rising once again. This man forces open someone else's car door open, pulls them out and smashes them to the ground. He then starts punching and kicking the person, while a third person runs into their car.

"Oh my god," Big Al says.

"Big Al, get us out of here. Big Al!" Kiyoteru growls.

"Holy shit!" Big Al yells. They start to turn around, and the man who was just attacking another person runs up to the window next to Rin and smashes against it, screaming. "What the fuck just happened? What the fuck just happened - did you see that?!"

"Yes, I saw it!" Kiyoteru shouts.

"Goddamn..." Big Al mumbles.

"Turn here. Turn here!" Kiyoteru demands, making Big Al swerve the car nearly out of control. Big Al turns to the left, only to see a crowd of people in a panic, trying to run away and not in an orderly fashion. Big Al slows down the car, trying to get past them but not trying to knock any of them over.

"No no no no no..." Kiyoteru mumbles, as Big Al tells people to move calmly.

"What are they runnin' from?" Rin asks.

"Get us outta here."

"I'm tryin'!" Big Al replies. He nearly knocks over an elderly man who foolishly ran into the car.

"Oh no," Rin says. He stares in the car at Big Al for a moment, then continues to run.

"We can't stop here, Al," Kiyoteru says.

"I can't fuckin' drive through 'em, Kiyoteru!" Big Al snaps. People continue running through the streets, blocking the path.

"Well back up then!" Kiyoteru remarks, angrily. Rin stays silent, watching as her father and uncle argue due to panic.

"They're behind me too!" Big Al yells.

"There. There, there!" Kiyoteru frantically yells, pointing to a gap in the crowd.

"Hold on!"

"Go!" Big Al starts driving again without checking for traffic.

"Look out!" Rin gasps, talking about a car driving straight for them from around the corner. It's too late. The car smashes into their car, making it topple over and break all the glass and dent it.

**...**

Screams could be heard. Panic. Just everywhere that a person ran into... Nothing but panic. Rin is the first to wake from the dreadful crash. She sits up, as she woke up to find herself lying down. "Daddy?" she asks, rushing up. "Hey." She shakes his arm, to get him to wake up. "Hey!" She says it more aggressively this time.

"What?" Kiyoteru mumbles, waking up. He looks out of the car window to see people attacking each other, but he is checking to see if it's clear. "Get back, baby. Get back." Rin moves back, not protesting to her father's demand. "Look, I'm okay..." He grabs onto something for support, and kicks the window next to his foot. It doesn't break, so he tries again. Still nothing. After a third kick, the glass window breaks. He crawls out of the car, his clothes stained with blood. He stands up and catches his breath, only to be grabbed viciously by another 'sick' person. Kiyoteru instinctively reacts, and tries to shove the person off. He struggles, but Big Al rushes out and smacks a gun off the person's head, splitting it open on the side and making him fall over.

"Dad?" Rin calls.

"I'm here, baby. I'm here," he says. "Come on, gimme your hand." Rin takes her father's hand and she gets out of the broken car. As she stands up, her ankle gives way and she falls into her father. He catches her just in time. "What is it?"

"My leg hurts," Rin says. The pain can be heard in the way she breathes; short and sharp.

"How bad?" Kiyoteru asks.

"Pretty bad..." she replies.

"Uh, we're gonna need to run," Big Al warns, stepping back a bit after watching some things going on.

"Oh my god..." Kiyoteru whispers. He fetches his gun out of his back pocket and hands it to his brother. "You keep us safe." Kiyoteru lifts up his daughter and carries her. "Come on, baby. Now hold on tight!"

"Okay," Rin replies. They begin to run, Kiyoteru holding tightly onto Rin. Screams can be heard, and there are a few sick people among the crowd. Everybody has the same idea - escape. "Daddy, I'm scared." They rush down the road, Big Al being their guide.

"He's dead!" shouts a person. A sick person tackles a normal person to the ground and attacks them, trying to bite them.

"Kiyoteru, watch out!" Big Al warns.

"Just keep your eyes closed, honey," Kiyoteru says.

"Oh my-!" Rin gasps as a car crashes straight into a building, instantly setting it alight. "Oh my god." It knocks over a tower which connects the electricity, sending it flying onto another car.

"Keep running!" Big Al shouts. More screams are heard, along with the crashing and the ripping of flames. They turn a corner and continue on.

"Those people are on fire..." Rin says, in shock.

"Don't look, Rin." People push into the two of them, in a panic to escape the nightmare that is being witnessed.

"Okay."

"Just keep looking at me, baby..." he says. A fire truck is blocking the path, but there seems to be a way around. Big Al points them into the right direction, and they continue running. A car comes skidding around and knocks a person over. In the process, sparks flicker from it. Rin whines, scared. They pass it, continuing through the maze of hell. Up ahead, a burning car tries to drive, but can't manage the flames that it holds, and crashes into another car making them both burst into huge flames.

"Get back! There's too many of 'em," Big Al says. "This way, through the alley." Kiyoteru turns around and follows Big Al into the alley. He pushes open the gate and lets them in first. "Go!" Kiyoteru runs first, but is jumped by another sick person. He tries to grab Rin, but Kiyoteru puts out his left arm and strongly shoves him back. Big Al kicks him over and shoots him in the head.

"Jesus..." Kiyoteru mumbles.

"He's dead!" Big Al announced.

"We're almost there. We're almost there, baby," Kiyoteru says softly to Rin. Rin nods and they go on. As she passes through the alley in her father's arms, she takes notice of yet another burning building. It seems that this is how it's all ending. Everything going up in flames; terrible screams and death. All of this happened so quickly.

"Keep going, find a way out of here!" Big Al shouts. He runs ahead and holds open a door. Kiyoteru gets through with Rin first, then Big Al slams the door shut on two sick people's left arms. "Get to the highway."

"What?" Kiyoteru asks, hesitant.

"Go - you got Rin!" Big Al demands. "I can out run 'em!"

"Uncle Al?" Rin asks. She sounds like she's about to cry. No wonder - with all of this going on.

"I will meet you there!" Kiyoteru shouts.

"Hurry." Kiyoteru kicks open the back door forcefully, to his success.

"Daddy, we can't leave him!" Rin cries.

"He's gonna be fine," Kiyoteru reassuringly replies. They approach a little hole in a small brick wall, which shows off a dirt path. They run down that to get to the highway. "We're almost there."

"They're gettin' closer," Rin says, referring to the two sick people behind them who are following. "Dad?" Helicopter noises can be heard. Aside from that, no other noise follows except the occasional moans of pain from the sick people behind them. They keep running, avoiding a sick person to their left, who was crawling slowly towards them to try and grab Kiyoteru's ankle. They ran up a hill, only to stop because Kiyoteru ran out of breath. They stop for a second, only to hear the sick people behind them catch up to them. Kiyoteru only turns around and go to run when he hears gun shots. They fall to the floor. Kiyoteru slowly turns back around to see where the gun shots came from.

"It's okay baby. We're safe," Kiyoteru gently whispers. "We're safe." They turn to see a man in full body-suit armor, holding up an army gun. "Hey. We need help!"

"Stop!" demands the man.

"Please. It's my daughter - I think her leg's broken," Kiyoteru says, stepping closer slowly.

"Stop right there!" he snaps, in a low and angry voice. Kiyoteru stops moving. He looks surprised at the man, because he's holding a gun. Rin looks desperate for help.

"Okay... We're _not _sick," Kiyoteru calmly says, backing away. Although he sounds calm, he's actually just as scared as anybody in this situation.

"Got a couple of civilians in the outer perimeter. Please advise," replies the man.

"Daddy, what about Uncle Al?" Rin asks.

"We're gonna get you to safety and go back for him. Okay?" he replies.

"Sir, there's a little girl," says the man into a walkie-talkie radio device. He pauses, waiting for the response. "But... Yes, sir." He lifts the gun up.

"Listen buddy, we've just been through hell. Okay, we just need-" Kiyoteru stops talking, seeing that the man is going to fire at any minute. "Oh shit." He turns away to run, but the man fires. Kiyoteru spins around to protect Rin, who screams. They both drop to the ground, seeming to have taken no hits. Kiyoteru lands on his chest and rolls over onto his back, now showing signs of pain. The man from the army walks over to him and aims for Kiyoteru's face. He desperately holds his hand in front of his face, a way of signalling that he's begging to live. "Please don't." Before the man fires, another gun shot is heard and his head is the first to move, taking the bullet. He topples to the ground. Big Al walks forward, reloading his gun. "Oh, no..." Kiyoteru quickly rushes up, remembering that Rin was there when the bullets were fired. He runs over to his daughter, and drops down on his knees beside her.

"Ah...ah...!" Rin breathes. They come out as short and sharp breaths, truly expressing her pain.

"Rin!" Kiyoteru shouts, now truly desperate.

"Ahh...Ahhh...!" Rin whimpers, clutching her stomach. The man from the army had shot her straight in the stomach and the blood from the injury was soaking her shirt quickly.

"Okay. Move your hands, baby," Kiyoteru says, his voice trembling. He wants to cry, but wants to stay strong for his baby girl. Rin clutches her father's shoulder weakly, still whimpering and crying. "I know, baby. I know..." He gently moves Rin's hand and places both of his hands on top of her wound.

"Ah...!" she squeaks, trying to hold onto her father.

"Listen to me. I know this hurts, baby. You're gonna be okay, baby. Stay with me," Kiyoteru whispers. Rin desperately holds onto her father, still crying for her life. The pain is unbearable for her. "Alright, I'm gonna pick you up." Kiyoteru puts his left arm underneath Rin, in an attempt to pick her up. "I know baby, I know. It hurts." Rin protested, not wanting to be picked up. As she is being lifted, the pain only gets worse.

"Ahh..." she whispers.

"Come on, baby, please." Kiyoteru looks to his brother for support, but all he can do is kneel there and not do a thing. He's too speechless and heartbroken, watching Rin beg for her life. "I know, baby. I know." Kiyoteru looks back at Rin, whose face is pale and whose hand is cold. Her breathing still, her eyes unmoved. "Rin... Baby...!" He looks at her, unable to believe that his baby girl may not be alive any more. "Don't do this to me baby. Don't do this to me baby girl. Come on...!" Kiyoteru breaks down crying. He chokes on his quick breathing, yet continues to cry over his little girl. "No, no... Oh no, no, no... Please." He pulls Rin up to him, holding her tightly. "Oh, God... Please. Please, don't do this. Please, God..."

_**THE LAST OF US**_

_The number of confirmed deaths has passed two hundred. The Governor has called a state of emergency...there were hundreds and hundreds of bodies lining the streets...panic spread worldwide after a leaked report from the World Health Organization showed that the latest vaccination tests have failed...with the bureaucrats out of power we can finally take the necessary steps to...Los Angeles is now the latest city to be placed under martial law...all residents are required to report to their designated quarantine-riots have continued for a third consecutive day and winter rations are at an all time low._

_A group calling themselves the Fireflies have claimed responsibility for both attacks...their public charter calls for the return of all branches of government...demonstrations broke out following the execution of six more alleged Fireflies._

_You can still rise with us. Remember, when you're lost in the darkness... look for the light. Believe in the Fireflies._

_**SUMMER : Twenty Years Later**_

_**...**_

_**That's all I'll be doing for the Prologue of The Last of Us! I hope I made this as emotional as possible when it comes to description. I'm really trying my best with this, you know. I know it sounds weird since I'm doing this word for word (some would say copying), but I want to keep it original as possible. The only thing is I'm using Vocaloids. Okay guys. I'm gonna say this first: I do NOT own The Last of Us in any way possible - All rights go to NaughtyDogs for their creation of this beautiful interaction game. I claim no rights whatsoever of this story line or any content at all. If asked by FanFiction staff or any NaughtyDogs staff, I will immediately take this down and respect demands for the claim to remove this story. I'm being very careful with copyright here - I am only changing this story from Joel and Sarah and everybody into Kiyoteru and Rin and everybody. This is purely entertainment purposes only. I am not making any money from this. Thank you for the disclaimer, haha!**_

_**Secondly, this story is obviously going to contain a lot of swearing, since our fave characters Joel and Ellie seem to go trigger-happy with swear words :L It's also gonna be big on detail with deaths and stuff, so this will have a rating of M. I will have this disclaimer above in every author's note from here on out, but the notes will not be as big as they were today. I don't know how I'll split this up into parts for chapters. Any ideas? Review me up, babes! Haha. See you all soon! ^^**_


	2. Chapter One - A Brave New World

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The Last of Us in any way possible - All rights go to Naughty Dog for their creation of this beautiful interaction game. I claim no rights whatsoever of this story line or any content at all. If asked by FanFiction staff or any Naughty Dog staff, I will immediately take this down and respect demands for the claim to remove this story. This is purely for entertainment purposes only and I am not claiming this work as my own. I rightfully recognise its origins belong to Naughty Dog. I am not making any money off this. Thank you.**_

_**Okay guys, welcome back to The Last of Us: Vocaloid! This is the official first chapter, before was a prologue. This time I'm proofreading my work. Even though you probably didn't see the mistakes because I fixed them, I still made 'em. Kat's my personal reminder. So without blabbing on too much, on we proceed!**_

_**...**_

A man jolts awake, presumably from a bad dream. This man is the same man who lost his daughter twenty years ago to the start of the rise of infected, now commonly known as zombies, categorised into 'clickers', 'runners' and 'bloaters'. This is Kiyoteru. He lets out a second long breath, indicating that he's just had a bad dream. He sits up on his bed and buries his cheeks in his hands for a couple of seconds, then stands up. He walks through to another room and rests his hand on the door frame. His age is starting to show, along with clear signs that things must be difficult. Grey hair, worn clothes, a makeshift bed and over-used blinds covering the windows. A knock comes at the door. "I'm coming," he says, sounding angry and impatient with the repeated knocking. He walks through the kitchen, grumbles, and unlocks the front door. Standing there is a woman with short dark brown hair, wearing a dark blue shirt and has blood smeared across her face. She looks at Kiyoteru, who recognises the woman and stands aside to let her in.

"How was your morning?" she asks as Kiyoteru shuts the door. She picks up a bottle of alcohol and pours some into a glass. "Want one?"

"No, I don't...want one," he replies. She sighs in response and leans against the table as Kiyoteru fusses with something.

"Well I have some interesting news for you," she says.

"Where were you, Meiko?" Kiyoteru interrupts, ignoring the woman's previous statement. He looks at her angrily yet seeming worried. She only glances back.

"West End district," replies the woman, now identified as Meiko. She lifts the glass to her mouth. "Hey, we had a drop to make." She moves her glass with her hand motions. She takes a sip from the glass.

"We," Kiyoteru says, making it specific. He walks up to Meiko, standing in front of her. "_We _had a drop to make."

"Yeah, well, you wanted to be left alone. Remember?" Meiko replies. Kiyoteru struts away from her, his back to her face. Meiko dabs her blood-smeared face with a towel.

"So, I'll take one guess. The uh, whole deal went south, and the Client made off with our pills. Is that about right?" Kiyoteru guesses, putting his hands impatiently on a table. Meiko laughs.

"Deal went off without a hitch," she smirks. "Enough ration cards to last us a couple of months - easy." She pulls some ration cards out of her back pocket and sets them down.

"You want to explain this?" Kiyoteru asks, gesturing towards her face which is covered in blood.

"I was on my way back here, and I got jumped by these two assholes, alright?" she replies, looking angry about the memory. She continues dabbing her face. "Yeah, they got a few good hits in. But..." She pauses, cutting off her sentence. "Look, I managed." Kiyoteru turns back to her and grabs the towel from her hand.

"Gimme that," he offers, sighing. He takes her chin with his finger and thumb and tilts her head slightly to start cleaning her injury. "Are these assholes still with us?" She gives a laugh.

"Now that's funny." Kiyoteru turns her head to check for any more injuries.

"Did you find out who they were?" Meiko turns her head back.

"Yeah, look they were a couple of nobodies - they don't matter," she replies. As she talks, she takes Kiyoteru's wrist and moves it from her chin, shoving it down to its normal place. "What matters is that Mikuo fucking sent them." Meiko points her hand angrily as she speaks, making gestures. Kiyoteru stares at her.

"Our Mikuo?"

"He knows that we're after him," Meiko says, shaking her head as she responds. Kiyoteru walks away a few steps. "He figures he's gonna get us first?"

"That son of a bitch, he's smart," Kiyoteru replies, tossing the towel down on the table. He rests his hand on the table.

"No. He's not smart enough." Meiko walks over to the table that Kiyoteru is leaning against. "I know where he's hiding." She speaks in a low voice, feeling proud for knowing that information.

"Like hell you do," Kiyoteru responds, not believing her.

"Old warehouse in Area 5 - can't say for how long, though," she continues, walking as she speaks.

"Well I'm ready now. Yeah?" He walks up to her.

"Oh, I can do now." The two of them walk out.

**...**

An army man is keeping a lookout from above, standing on the roof of a building. Several birds flap their wings, taking flight. Just another typical day. Most places are a mess; rubbish bags everywhere, yet the U.S flag hangs high, as a sign of some sanity remaining. However, it's all worn and dirty, much like the state of the place it hangs. What else is to be expected after twenty years running of an invasion of zombies? A door opens - The back door of the house where Meiko and Kiyoteru are currently living in. The two walk out, Meiko first. "The checkpoint's still open," she announces.

"Only got a few hours left until curfew," Kiyoteru responds, quickly after Meiko speaks.

"We better hurry up then." They begin to walk the streets.

"Wait, are you serious?" asks a person. Two people are stood by a big bin, leaning against it and talking.

"Got served the damn papers this morning."

"I've been selected for outside work duty." Kiyoteru and Meiko walk past them, ignoring their conversation.

"It's such crap. Soldiers are supposed to handle the outside." Meiko and Kiyoteru come to a rusting gate, but Meiko unlocks it and pushes it open. The two walk through an alley, its state showing rubbish and dirt. Everywhere. As they reach the end of the alley, they come to the back end of a city, which is also in a bit of a state. An announcement comes over.

"Attention. Citizens are required to carry a current ID at all times. Compliance with all city personnel is mandatory." A tank drives past, seeming to be on duty. A sign is high up covering two small windows, having something to do with Curfew Hours. Kiyoteru stops and observes his surroundings.

"Look at that. Ration line hasn't opened yet. Must be running low again," Meiko commented, a few feet ahead of Kiyoteru. They continue to walk.

"Hey, how much longer?" asks a woman.

"Lady, when the rations arrive, we'll open the door. Alright?"

"Let's go."

"I heard it's another half ration week." Kiyoteru and Meiko pass by an area cornered off by barriers and army men.

"Down on the ground."

"You leave me alone!"

"Are you fucking kidding me? That's three weeks in a row now." As the two pass, it seems there are plenty of conversations going on.

"Okay, okay. Jesus."

"I said get down!"

"I didn't do anything wrong."

"Well, what're you gonna do? Hands on your fucking head - do it."

"Alright, scan 'em."

"Keep your voice down. What's wrong with you?"

"Whatever. I don't even care anymore. Let 'em take me."

"Seems like more people are gettin' infected," says Meiko, hearing the orders of an army man and protests of a normal man.

"He's clean."

"Just... Be quiet," Kiyoteru replies.

"Clean." The two turn a corner and come to more commotion between army men and normal people.

"Ah shit. Hold her down. It's wrong, the scan's wrong!"

"They fucking lynched 'em."

"Do it."

"Please!"

"The entire squad?"

"I got us all new papers. They shouldn't give us any static up there," Meiko comments. The two are approaching the guards blocking off an area. A big yellow sign is held up made of cheap material. It says: **CHECKPOINT. South 5. **The two approach the guards.

"Let me see your ID's," says a guard. Kiyoteru gets the ID's out of his pocket and hands them to the guard.

"Here you go."

"What's your business here?" asks the guard.

"Got the day off. Visiting a friend," Kiyoteru replies, lying. The guard carefully observes the ID.

"Alright, move on through." He gives the ID back to Kiyoteru. Just as he takes a step forward, an explosion occurs out of nowhere. Meiko, Kiyoteru and three guards cover their ears and dodge back instinctively.

"Oh shit," Kiyoteru cusses.

"Get outta here. Go!" orders the guard, pulling the gate to a close. Bullets are fired and guards start to get alert.

"Close it up!" Kiyoteru and Meiko helplessly watch.

"Fireflies!"

"Fuckin' shoot 'em!" They close up more gates.

"They're running! Call for backup!"

"Kiyoteru, come on, let's get outta here," Meiko says, grabbing him by the elbow. Meiko and him run off.

"Attention. Checkpoint 5 is now closed until further notice. All civilians must clear the surrounding area immediately." The two sprint down the street and come to a building with four steps leading up to a dark brown wooden door. Meiko holds open the door for Kiyoteru to get through first. Kiyoteru closes the door once he and Meiko enter. They stop, and Meiko sighs.

"Fuck... so much for the easy route," she complains. "Patch yourself up, alright?" Meiko hands Kiyoteru a med-kit, containing certain items to restore a person's health. Kiyoteru takes it. He patches up while Meiko gets a head start. "They're gonna close all the checkpoints. We're gonna have to go around the outside." Kiyoteru catches up to her. He takes a left around the corner leading into another corridor, but this one is lit up by a couple of bulbs.

"Outside the wall?" Kiyoteru asks.

"Or we could just let Mikuo go," Meiko says, knowing for a fact that Kiyoteru will protest to the crazy idea of letting Mikuo go.

"Cute," Kiyoteru remarks sarcastically.

"Hey Meiko. You see that shit?" asks a person, sitting in one of the chairs that's placed out in the hall. He stands up and goes up to Meiko.

"I was there. Hey, how's the east tunnel looking?" Faint alarm noises can be heard, even from inside where Kiyoteru and Meiko are. The man joins the two of them, making conversation.

"It's clear. I just used it; no patrols." They take a turn to the right and continue walking. "Where you off to?"

"Gonna pay Mikuo a visit," Meiko says.

"You too?" he asks. This statement makes it clear that a lot of people don't seem to particularly like this Mikuo character.

"Who else is looking for him?" Meiko wonders.

"Uh, Luka. She's been asking around, trying to find him," he replies.

"Luka?" Meiko sounds confused and interested, mixed in one. "What do the Fireflies need with Mikuo?"

"Huh. You think she'd tell me?" he rhetorically asks.

"Well, what did you tell her?" As they continue on down the corridor, Kiyoteru decides to observe the surroundings while keeping silent during Meiko's conversation with this random person. Must know him, Kiyoteru figured. Some places are dark with no light, where others are brightly lit by bulbs. Seems as though it's been abandoned.

"The truth. I got no idea where he's hiding."

"Good man. Hey, you stay out of trouble, alright? Military's gonna be out in force soon." Kiyoteru notices out of the corner of his eye a man resting in a chair as he walks by. They're coming to another no-bulb area of the corridor.

"Yeah - see you around." The man goes off into his room, leaving Meiko and Kiyoteru to continue alone.

"Luka lookin' for Mikuo..." She sounds almost sarcastic. "What do you make of that?" They turn left and continue to walk.

"I don't like it. We better find him before the Fireflies do," Kiyoteru says. They come to the end of the corridor. The door leading out of the building is blocked off by cluttered up rubbish, but Meiko and Kiyoteru aren't planning on leaving. Instead, they turn left and enter a room. It's in a not so good looking state; piled up pieces of rubbish, dirty white chairs and broken blinds. Yet another expected thing after everybody's world being turned upside down.

"This is us." Meiko heaves a long sigh. There is a man sitting on a dark brown couch.

"Hey guys. How's it goin'?" he asks.

"Shit's stirring up out there," Meiko responds. "How we lookin' over here?"

"Ah, it's been quiet. No signs of military or infected," he says.

"That's what I like to hear," Meiko replies, sounding somewhat happy or a form of relief. They turn around and Meiko attempts to push a heavy shelf cabinet out of the way. "Kiyoteru, gimme a hand with this." Kiyoteru nods and goes to the opposite end of the cabinet and pulls while Meiko pushes it out of the way. Behind it, is revealed to be a big hole in the wall.

"Y'all take it easy out there," says the man, wishing them a form of good luck. Hey... They'll need it out there. They climb through the hole and drop down into a very dark place.

"Agh! God, this place reeks. They need to watch what they throw away down here," Meiko complains. She flicks on her torch and they start to walk down the dirt-infested basement room. "Let there be light." There is a buzzing of a generator machine at the end of the straight-down path. Meiko and Kiyoteru turn right and continue down. "Let's grab our gear." Meiko jumps over a giant rusting metal pipe blocking the way. Kiyoteru, steps behind, jumps over it and follows on. They once again turn right, as turning left is a dead end. "Our backpacks are still here from last time." Meiko approaches a wooden bench full of gear and all sorts. Also, their backpacks lay there. Kiyoteru comes to the table and the first thing he picks up is his gun. He messes about with it and takes out a little case inside it.

"Not a lot of ammo," he says. He puts it back in and reloads it.

"Well, make your shots count," Meiko replies. Kiyoteru picks up a gas mask. He puts on his backpack and quickly follows after Meiko, who always seems to be a step ahead of him. They turn to the left. "Alright, Texas. Boost me up." Kiyoteru goes over to several wooden boards, but on the top is a gap for somebody to get through. He puts out his hands to hold Meiko's foot. "You ready?"

"Yes, ma'am." Meiko puts her foot in his hands and grabs onto a yellow bar for support. Kiyoteru lifts her up and she gets her arms on top of the bar and manages to grip her feet enough to get herself up.

"C'mon." She holds out her hand for Kiyoteru to then get up. Kiyoteru backs up a few steps, runs, jumps and Meiko gets a hold of one of his hands. She pulls, and Kiyoteru lifts himself up with the help of Meiko. They walk forward and Kiyoteru sees a big piece of wood blocking the gap entrance. Kiyoteru holds it up.

"Go on," he offers. Meiko pulls herself up to the gap and enters. She then holds on to it herself.

"Got it." Kiyoteru then gets himself up. They put the wood down together and the room is revealed to be some sort of abandoned diner. They walk through it. The diner is once again a reflection of every other place in the area. Worn down, dirty and well past its duration date.

"Be careful," Kiyoteru warns.

"Pff, when am I not?" Meiko responds confidently.

"That a trick question?" Kiyoteru asks. They come out of the diner to see an environment full of nature. Grass dominates everywhere, including moss high up on walls of the backs of buildings. Plants overgrow and trees grow in full bloom. It would have been truly beautiful, if not for the current situation that has dominated many lives. "Ain't been out here in awhile..."

"It's like we're on a date," Meiko sarcastically comments. They walk down a path together.

"Well I am the romantic type," Kiyoteru smirks.

"You got your ways," Meiko laughs. Once they pass the path, they walk down some rocks and across the grass. Plants brush past their arms and clothing as they walk through the overgrown grass. "Where's the ladder?" They jump down from some sort of boxes and down into more grass.

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," Kiyoteru replies. They look around. Surrounding them is a white car that is going dirty, is dented and a building with windows that are stained by fire and smoke. Kiyoteru begins to explore the area, searching for a ladder.

"Hey, try that area over there," Meiko suggests, pointing to behind the abandoned car. Kiyoteru goes over and picks up the ladder, just managing to handle the weight of it.

"Got it."

"Good, bring it over." Kiyoteru turns around and walks back over to Meiko. He places it against the wall near Meiko.

"Ladies first," Kiyoteru offers, being a gentleman.

"Lady?" Meiko scoffs, climbing up the ladder. "Must be thinking of someone else.

"It's all relative," Kiyoteru says, following her.

"This way," Meiko instructs. They walk through an obviously collapsed area. There are bricks scattered all around, and even some bigger bits of concrete are laying in awkward places. They quickly run through the area, turning at a right angle and then left. "Down through here." They turn to the left once more and come to some stairs. They jog down them and Kiyoteru jumps from three stairs to the bottom. They turn left again. "Think Mikuo's still got our guns?"

"For his sake... He better," Kiyoteru replies. He flicks on his torch, because the room they are in is too dark to see properly.

"Look, once we get our merchandise back, it should be easy to unload." Her voice echoes throughout the room, due to the amount of empty space in the place. They walk through a space where a door is meant to be, but it has either been ripped off, deliberately or accidentally.

"Speaking of merchandise, when's that next shipment due?" Kiyoteru wonders.

"Hold up," Meiko interrupts. "Spores." The two of them put on their gas masks and continue down the winding corridor.

"Where the hell are all these comin' from? Place was clear last time."

"They're coming outta somethin'. Stay alert," Meiko warns. Kiyoteru nods and they continue. There's a small hole in the wall; enough space for people to crawl through. Kiyoteru gets on his knees and crawls through the hole, shortly followed by Meiko. There are a lot of pieces of broken wood, rocks and other things scattered across the passage. Kiyoteru sees a body blending in with the amount of rubbish. An infected person.

"There's our culprit." The person looks to be rotting away.

"Body's not that old. Better keep your eyes and ears open." They stand up and Kiyoteru moves a randomly placed plank of wood out of the way of another passage.

"Should be able to fit through here," he says, moving the plank of wood. As he moves it, it causes big rocks to fall. Kiyoteru instantly backs away. "Oh, shit!"

"You okay?" Meiko asks, concerned.

"Yeah. Damn ceiling's falling apart. Be careful," Kiyoteru replies. He and Meiko manages to squeeze through the gap between the wall and file cabinets. "Easy..."

"Jesus!" Kiyoteru gasps as a moving hand goes to grab his ankle.

"Help me..." the man breathes, trapped under some heavy rubble. He coughs. "My mask broke. Don't... Don't leave me to turn." He coughs some more, taking in spores with every breath. "Please."

"What do you wanna do?" Meiko asks Kiyoteru. Kiyoteru sighs and takes out his gun. He aims at the man's head and shoots. The man takes an instant death. "Poor bastard." Kiyoteru thinks that was the best way to help the man. The two of them continue on through the spore-infested maze. They take many turns and they go through many different doors. Kiyoteru comes to a gap in a boarded up door. He kneels down and crawls through to the other side. "Up ahead. You hear that?"

"Shh, shh, shh," Kiyoteru hisses, whispering. Kiyoteru leans against a wall, listening into the next room. Screams and moans of pain can be heard from several infected people. Kiyoteru focuses his hearing, to hear two infected attacking another, and one aimlessly walking around. He sneaks up carefully behind the first one he sees. He grabs them around the neck and strangles them. He sets them down on the floor quietly and continues on, sneaking his way up to the other three. "Jeeesus..." Kiyoteru whispers, now seeing two infected people clawing away at another person's chest, eating what they could find inside. They make noises, hungrily devouring the person's insides. Kiyoteru shudders and sneaks by them. He approaches a door and carefully opens it, not wanting to make a lot of noise. He enters and goes up to the table, to find three bullets for gun ammo. He takes them and inserts them in the gun, then continues on carefully. Kiyoteru makes his way back out of the room and goes to where he was previously after escaping the sight of two infected people, and heads up a staircase. He opens a door near a non-spore area, only to be followed by two more infected people. He instantly takes out his gun, as does Meiko. They both fire at the infected, sending them straight to the ground. Blood stains the floor, but Meiko and Kiyoteru feel confident in knowing they are safe. For now.

"Alright, that's all of 'em," Meiko says.

"Let's hope so," Kiyoteru responds.

"Let's head back into the city." Kiyoteru notices a letter on a table next to the back window. He picks it up and reads it.

_Hey Brother, we were so close. I'm sitting outside the walls knowing I'll never see the inside of the zone. While waiting for the smuggler to show up, we heard a squad of soldiers approaching. In our panic, we ducked into this building in hopes of hiding from them. None of us noticed the spores until it was too late. We're all infected - we have a few hours, maybe a day at most. I hope the smuggler is still coming so that I can at least pass this note to you. I should've listened to you and come to the zone with you when I had the chance. Now it's too late. Take care._

Kiyoteru puts the note in his bag and continues walking with Meiko. He made perfect sense of the letter. It seems more and more people are getting infected. He heads out through the door and the hole in the wall. He goes across big planks of wood stuck down covering a hole in the floor, which leads to an outside area. He jumps down and lands with a thud. He takes off his gas mask. There are even more plants, grass and trees dominating the area. "Ahh..." Meiko breathes in gratefully. "Some fresh air." The two of them cross a fairly big, dirty puddle and through a wire fence. "That's the one thing I love about the outside. Fuckin' hate the smell of the city."

"Why don't you ask Rinto to get you some of them air fresheners?" Kiyoteru asks.

"Hey, if they weren't expired, that'd be a good idea," Meiko responds. The area that they cross is covered by some more dirty water, and a broken and abandoned bus in the middle, one end sinking into the water. They come to a path, and behind an overgrown plant is a board of wood blocking a hole. Kiyoteru moves the wood.

"After you," he offers, holding open the makeshift gate. Meiko gets in and Kiyoteru gets in a few seconds after.

"Cover the entrance," Meiko says.

"Yep, I got it," Kiyoteru replies. He pulls the makeshift gate back into the hole. On the inside of this hole is a room that is crossed with an abandoned factory of some sort, yet there is a stray tree growing, along with many more plants. Meiko is in the lead, as usual. Kiyoteru walks across the dirty floor boards and goes to a wall where he has to climb up and over. He uses both of his hands to support him and shifts his legs up. He stands on the top successfully. There are more wooden floorboards, but there is a fairly big gap between the floor. On the other side is presumably a way out.

"Damn it. Plank fell down," Meiko sighs, crouching and looking down the gap. Kiyoteru scratches his head, stumped. "Be a dear, would you?"

"I'll get it." Kiyoteru goes down planks of wood placed together that makes a ramp and onto a mini-roof of a separate area. He jumps down and grabs the plank of wood that has fallen down.

"Here, pass it to me," Meiko says. She is standing now where Kiyoteru had jumped off to get the plank of wood. Kiyoteru turns carefully and passes the plank to Meiko.

"It's a bit heavy."

"I think I can handle it." She carries it over to the gap and places it down as Kiyoteru looks for a way to get up. "There we go." Meiko crosses it. "Get your ass up here. Let's move."

"Bossy today," Kiyoteru mutters.

"We're gettin' close," Meiko says. Kiyoteru jumps up onto a low ledge and crawls through a hole. He walks up a wooden makeshift ramp and stands up properly. He continues across the rusting metal floor and jumps up one more ledge. He comes to the gap and walks across the plank carefully balancing himself. He passes the wooden floor which has blades of grass poking tall through it. Nature seems to have made its way to the abandoned area. Kiyoteru walks out the door and goes down a couple of stairs, before having to jump off and land on the grassy ground.

"Make sure there aren't any soldiers around," Kiyoteru says. Meiko looks around and jumps over a blockage.

"It's clear, c'mon." Kiyoteru jumps over it too and follows Meiko. They turn left and go down, but Kiyoteru has to crouch and crawl under a small space. The amount of standing space has been taken up by a metal ramp. He catches up to Meiko who is standing by a door to yet another abandoned area. She pushes open the door and enters, along with Kiyoteru. "Shut it." Kiyoteru nods and pushes the door to a close. Meiko and Kiyoteru put on their torches, as the area is dark on the inside. The windows are beginning to become thick with dust. There are random items scattered around, such as empty washing baskets, cleaning equipment and many other things. "Pick up that ammo." On the table in the next room they enter, there is some ammo on the table. Kiyoteru takes the 4 bullets and loads them into his gun. They continue through yet another door. Meiko goes up the three metal stairs, Kiyoteru behind her, and knocks on a door. "Hey, little man. Make sure the coast is clear." A young boy is standing at the open door. "No soldiers, none of Mikuo's men. Yeah?" Meiko is holding up a ration card as a bribe. The boy takes the ration card and closes the door to make sure the coast is clear for the two of them.

"You know he's expecting us," Kiyoteru says. Meiko has her arms impatiently folded and is leaning against the barrier of the stairs.

"Well, that'll make it more interesting," she simply says, turning her head to talk to him. The boy knocks on the window and rushes off. "Good to go." Meiko opens the door and the two of them enter. Kiyoteru closes it behind him.

"Hey Meiko. Hey Meiko. Hey, pretty lady. How you doin' today? I heard you got some merchandise. C'mon. No, no, it's good. I got the card-"

"Not right now, Oliver," Meiko says, walking past the man who is trying to sell some sort of pitch. Kiyoteru walks by him. "_Not _now. You hear me?"

"Don't get all huffy-puffy about it." The area that Meiko and Kiyoteru are now in seems to be some sort of slum area, or a dodgy market place. There are stalls placed all over, bunched together and full of suspicious looking characters. As Kiyoteru and Meiko walk through the over-crowded stall area, several people stare at them. One of them is roughly hitting his own hand with a metal bat, as if he was going to hit somebody with it. Another man stands up as Kiyoteru passes him.

"You touch it, you buy it." Kiyoteru comes into an area with wood set up in a position to filter in some light, but the area is kept dark. Through the gaps, Kiyoteru can see and hear somebody beating up another person. A man stands in front of Kiyoteru, blocking his way.

"Where do you think you're goin'?"

"Ted. Sit back down," Meiko says.

"Oh, sorry, Meiko. Didn't realise you two were together. Go ahead," says the man. He sits back down and lets the two pass. They come out of the door and head into a street.

"Who's that?" Kiyoteru wonders.

"An old headache. Don't ask," Meiko replies. They appear to come to a dead end. Two people are standing in front of a metal fence with barbed wire sticking up on the top. He and Meiko come to an entrance to another alley. A suspicious looking man is standing there with the hood of his jumper up. Meiko approaches him.

"I'm lookin' for Mikuo," she says in a low voice, getting a ration card out of her back pocket. She holds it out to the man. "He come through here?"

"Half hour ago," he replies, accepting Meiko's bribe. "He went back to the wharf. He's there now." He takes the ration card and lets Meiko and Kiyoteru pass. They walk through a tunnel-type of area and turn left. There are several big boxes spread around the area. Chest-high walls.

"Here we go," Kiyoteru says. Three people are on the opposite side of the area. Meiko and Kiyoteru approach them, standing in front of them.

"Take cover!" yells another one of them. Meiko and Kiyoteru dodge behind some chest-high walls, while the other two run behind some.

"You ready?" Meiko asks.

"Yep," Kiyoteru replies.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!" shouts a man.

"I'll cover you. Get the angle on them." Kiyoteru walks carefully to the left and goes behind one chest-high wall. The two men stand up, foolishly showing themselves. Kiyoteru pulls out his gun, but one goes left and the other goes right. The one on the left hides and the one on the right attempts to shoot Kiyoteru, but misses. Kiyoteru goes to the left side of his chest-high wall and shoots through a gap in the box that his victim is hiding in, but misses. He aims again at the now standing up man, being practically a mirror to him. The man shoots but Kiyoteru just misses. When Kiyoteru fires, it's a chest shot, sending the man flying backwards. Meiko gets the other man. Thinking he's dead, Kiyoteru stands up showing himself. However, the man isn't dead and shoots Kiyoteru aiming for the arm, but it just catches him. Kiyoteru shoots him, definitely finishing him off. "Got this for ya." Meiko gives Kiyoteru another med-kit. Kiyoteru wraps up his arm and his health is healed. "Nicely done, Texas."

"You too," Kiyoteru responds. "How the hell did he get all these guys?"

"If Mikuo's good at one thing, it's writing blank checks," Meiko says.

"Let's go put an end to this." Kiyoteru takes 6 bullets that have been dropped beside a person that he just shot. They come to a locked gate.

"Shit... Can't go through here. Boost me up," Meiko says. Kiyoteru goes over to the gate and puts out his hands like he did previously. Meiko gets up and crouches over the side of the roof. "Gimme your hand." Kiyoteru takes his hand like he did before and got helped up.

"Alright." They pass the stairs where the gate would have led them if it wasn't locked and come to some more stairs. They jog down them and come to another rusting away gate. However, this gate has a small hole in it.

"Over here, Kiyoteru," Meiko says. Kiyoteru nods and crouches to crawl through it and carefully drops down. They crouch, coming to more chest-high walls. Meiko scoffs.

"More of Mikuo's guys."

"Shit, I see 'em."

"How do you know they're here?"

"Two of our guys died trying to take Meiko out. I guarantee that she and Kiyoteru are on their way here, right now, to get Mikuo." As the man says that, Kiyoteru glances over at Meiko, who shrugs while smirking.

"Jesus, we shouldn't have taken this job."

"Not our call. Let's spread out and make sure no one's creeping around in here."

"Nice and quiet, Texas," Meiko whispers. The two men are standing near the entrance to the next area. Meiko quickly crawls to the left, crouching by another wall. She sneaks up behind one of them while the other is walking away. She grabs him around the neck and drives a knife deep into his neck. She yanks it out and lets the man drop to the floor. "Move up. Move up." Kiyoteru crawls behind the other man quietly and sneaks up behind him. Kiyoteru grabs him around the neck and strangles him. The man struggles, weakly grabbing Kiyoteru's face and attempting to get free. It fails and he drops to the floor. He sees three window openings without glass. Kiyoteru puts his hand on the window ledge whilst hopping over it, trying not to alert the two men inside of there. He hides behind a computer desk then quickly crawls forward. He strangles one of the men, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Meiko is also strangling another, Kiyoteru can see. A key falls out of a dead man's pocket, making a 'clink' noise against the floor. Kiyoteru picks it up and sees a label on it, which he guesses is short for 'Warehouse Key'. He stuffs it away in his pocket and continues to crawl quietly through the area. There are no more men in sight, so Kiyoteru and Meiko stand up. He comes through to a dark room which is small, but has another door in it. He uses the key to unlock the door. He and Meiko enter the Warehouse. Two men are walking by the door at the other end of the room. Kiyoteru and Meiko continue to sneak on. Kiyoteru grabs a randomly placed bottle that's in reach. He throws it through the door to distract the two men.

"You hear that?!" As they look, Meiko and Kiyoteru sneak up a little closer to the door. He stands by the door now, preparing to get the men. One man standing directly next to the door turns around and sees Kiyoteru, yet does nothing. He turns back around. Kiyoteru thinks this is weird, but he grabs the man and strangles him regardless. As this happens, a bullet is fired at Kiyoteru but misses. Kiyoteru takes cover again, quickly grabbing the ammo that the man had dropped. He goes through the door to the right and comes into an almost mirror room, where another door leads into the same place where the two remaining men are. As Kiyoteru looks carefully through the door, a bullet is fired from behind him. He turns around to see a man standing at the gap in the window from the other side. However, Meiko has already begun to shoot him. This man is no longer a problem. Kiyoteru crawls through to the next area and turns right, only to be spotted by a man on the stairs. Kiyoteru pulls out his gun and shoots him in the head. He falls backwards, cracking his head off the metal. Kiyoteru continues on and walks up the stairs slowly. Meiko is behind him. He stops by the door and focuses his hearing to see if he could pinpoint exactly where some more men were. He then enters the area, being careful. A man is behind him, however, and tries shooting Kiyoteru. Meiko instantly shoots this man, sending him smacking off the ground. Meiko goes one way, but Kiyoteru goes the other. He enters a room and sees a med-kit lying on the table, so he takes it and shoves it in his bag. Kiyoteru is just about to go down some stairs, but then he hears a man walking rather loudly. So, taking this opportunity, he sneaks around to get behind him. Kiyoteru stands by the door, preparing to ambush this man. The man sees him and tries to escape, but blood flies out of him as a bullet connects with his face. Kiyoteru punches him in the face as hard as possible, sending the man tumbling face first into a wall. He smacks his head off the wall, leaving trails of blood as he falls over.

"Tch... We shoulda brought more people," Meiko complains, catching her breath.

"They'd just slow us down," Kiyoteru replies. He heads down the stairs, followed by Meiko.

"Yeah, you're right," she agrees. "C'mon, the docks are this way. Let's do this." They come to a closed garage door and next to it is a chain to pull it up. Kiyoteru gets a good grip with both of his hands on the chain and pulls down hard. Meiko ducks slightly and exits the area. Kiyoteru does the same as soon as he's pulled it up a good amount. The two crouch down behind a wall, seeing several people standing in the street just in front of them. "There's our boy." Meiko points over to Mikuo, a tall, suspicious-looking man. Mikuo nods at the person he's talking to and walks away. "That cocky son of a bitch."

"Let's go wrap this up," Kiyoteru says. He puts his hand as a support on the wall and jumps down, landing carefully behind a chest-high wall. Kiyoteru sneaks over to the other side, hiding behind three waste barrels. A man from the area sees Kiyoteru, and jumps him. He grabs Kiyoteru around the neck, attempting to strangle him and smash his head off the wall behind him. Kiyoteru fights back by grabbing the man's arm and punching him in the face. He twists the man's arm and pushes his face violently off the wall. He drops down, blood splattering onto Kiyoteru and on the wall. Kiyoteru kicks him over once more before he attempts to get up, and then continues on. Kiyoteru hides behind the three barrels and sees a man just standing there. Kiyoteru aims, but the man dodges down before any action could be took. This same man runs out to the wall presumably trying to take cover, but he's standing directly in front of Meiko and Kiyoteru. The two of them fire, but the man is being careful and doesn't get hit. He runs towards Kiyoteru to try and get him, but Meiko shoots him in the stomach. He falls over, clutching his stomach. Kiyoteru rushes over to another place to take cover. A man from a couple of feet away shoots at Kiyoteru, but he manages to shoot him in the chest, knocking him over. Another man holding a metal bar is running towards them, but Meiko shoots him down. Kiyoteru shoots a third man who's running by, but it just misses him. So, Kiyoteru goes around the other way to get him. He runs through the area where he was previously at - next to the barrels - and nearly trips over a metal bar. He picks it up and shoves it in the equipment part of his bag. He catches up to the man, to find out that a second man is there. He shoots at them, only to make one of them shout out.

"He's got a gun!" Well that one wasn't obvious. The two of them run. Kiyoteru looks around, to see one of them hiding in a metal tunnel-alike area, so he punches away at him violently. Kiyoteru then proceeds to smack the first man in the head with his metal bar that he'd recently found, cracking it open and making blood splash and pour out. He drops to the floor. Kiyoteru comes out of the tunnel and leans against a wooden wall-type thing. He sees a brick on the ground and picks it up, thinking it will do well for distractions or even a matter of defence. A man begins to shoot at Kiyoteru, who has to quickly defend himself. Kiyoteru shoots three times in a slight panic, sending the man flying. He reloads his gun and he and Meiko go through the tunnel where they previously were and see a man casually leaning against the outside of the tunnel, holding a metal bar in his hand. Kiyoteru jumps him and smacks him twice in the stomach and head with his own metal bar then punches him, only to be smashed back with the man's metal bar. Meiko involves herself and shoots him in the head. He drops to the floor. Kiyoteru and Meiko approach a door with a flickering light hanging over it.

"That office. Mikuo must've run in there. Let's go," Meiko says. As Kiyoteru goes over to the door, a med-kit catches his eye. It's resting on top of a chest-high wall, so he takes it and stuffs it in his bag. He opens the door to reveal a not so comfortable looking rest room. The couch has been ripped, there is a smashed glass window, a worn and dirty carpet and other misplaced furniture. "Let's not wait around." Kiyoteru opened the door at the end of the room.

"Oh shit!" Kiyoteru gasps as a bullet is instantly fired the moment the door is opened. Kiyoteru just manages to avoid the bullet, dodging to the side of the door.

"Get back. Get the fuck back!" demands Mikuo, holding up his gun. Meiko rushes to the other side.

"We just wanna talk, Mikuo," Meiko says.

"We ain't got fuckin' nothin' to talk about," Mikuo yells.

"Put your gun down!" Meiko orders. He shoots again.

"Yeah..." he mumbles. "Go fuck yourself!" He throws the gun angrily out the door and begins to sprint.

"He's running!" Meiko shouts. The two of them instantly go after him.

"Mikuo!"

"Screw you, Kiyoteru!"

"Kiyoteru - this way." They run through a door leading into a small and dark room, where another door is. Kiyoteru angrily kicks open the door and runs down the alley, turning right. He continues, avoiding the tossed over bin and rubbish spilling out of it. He and Meiko turns left sharply and enters a building. "We almost got him."

"C'mon, c'mon." They take many twists and turns through the maze of a building, and eventually come to a window with no glass on it. Kiyoteru and Meiko jump through it.

"Come on!" Mikuo yells, violently shaking a locked gate. Mikuo is now cornered by Meiko and Kiyoteru.

"Hello, Mikuo," Meiko greets. Mikuo turns around to face the two.

"Meiko. Kiyoteru. No hard feelings, right?" he asks, slowly walking up to them. Meiko tuts.

"None at all." She bends over slightly and picks up a metal bar conveniently placed on the ground. Mikuo attempts to run, but Meiko smacks him across the knees with sharp reflexes, causing him to fall helplessly to the ground.

"Ah... God damn it!" he curses. Meiko throws the metal bar to the ground.

"We missed you," Meiko sarcastically says.

"Look, whatever it is you heard, it ain't true, okay?" Mikuo asks, placing one hand on his knee. "I just want to say-"

"The guns," Meiko interrupts, standing over him. "You wanna tell us where the guns are?" Mikuo sighs.

"Yeah sure, but... i-it's complicated. Alright?" Meiko looks over at Kiyoteru, who's casually leaning against the wall. However, he holds a stern look on his face. Kiyoteru pushes himself up right and walks over to Mikuo. "Look, alright, just hear me out on this." Kiyoteru stamps as hard as possible on Mikuo's hand, making him whimper loudly. "Fuck...!" Kiyoteru crouches down slightly and grabs Mikuo's arm, preparing to twist it. "Ah. Stop, stop, stop!" Meiko walks over to face Mikuo and kneels down beside him, but only placing one knee on the ground.

"Oh, quit your squirmin'," Meiko says coldly. "You were saying?"

"I sold 'em." Meiko looks at Kiyoteru, a shocked yet pissed off look on her face.

"Excuse me?" she asks, not believing what she's hearing.

"I didn't have much of a choice. I owed someone," Mikuo says.

"You owed us." Meiko corrects him. "I'd say you bet on the wrong horse." Mikuo breathes angrily.

"I just need more time. Just gimme a week."

"You know... I might've done that if you hadn't tried to fucking kill me," Meiko growls.

"C'mon, it wasn't like-"

"Who was our guns?" Meiko interrupts, raising her voice. He hesitates, deciding if he should talk or not.

"I can't say." Meiko and Kiyoteru exchange glances, and Kiyoteru knows what he has to do. "Just gimme a couple of-" Kiyoteru twists Mikuo's arm that he has a hold of. The tearing of the muscle can be heard, followed by a scream. "Fucking...!" Kiyoteru lets go of him, and he rolls over onto his side.

"Who has our guns?" Meiko repeats. Mikuo breathes quickly, clearly in pain.

"The Fireflies. I owed the Fireflies." Meiko looks at Kiyoteru, then back at Mikuo.

"What?" she asks.

"Look. They're basically all dead. We can just - Just go in there, finish 'em off!" he tries. He nods, trying to reason with them. "We get the guns. Whadaya say?" Meiko has a doubtful look on her face, as does Kiyoteru. The two of them stand up, and Mikuo attempts to get up himself. "C'mon - Fuck those Fireflies! Let's go get 'em!" Meiko looks at Kiyoteru.

"That is a stupid idea." Kiyoteru approvingly nods, and Meiko turns to face Mikuo. She shoots him in the head, and the splatter of blood can be heard. Mikuo drops down. Kiyoteru sniffs.

"Well, now what?" he asks. Meiko shakes her head.

"We go get our merchandise back."

"How?"

"I don't know. We... Explain it to them." She pauses, thinking of an idea. "Look, let's go find a Firefly."

"You won't have to look very far." A woman comes out from behind the wall which is in front of Kiyoteru. She is holding her arm in a position as if it were in a cast, and in her other hand is a gun for protection.

"There you go... Queen Firefly," Kiyoteru says. Luka.

"Why are you here?" she asks.

"Business," Meiko simply says. She observes the woman in front of her. "You aren't looking so hot." Luka lifts her fingers slightly and glances down at the gun wound in her side. She ignores Meiko's statement.

"Where's Mikuo?" Meiko casually walked to the side, presenting Mikuo who was surrounded by a pool of his own blood. Luka laughs quietly, shaking her head. "I needed him alive."

"The guns he gave you? They weren't his to sell," Meiko says, trying to be reasonable. "I want them back."

"Doesn't work like that, Meiko," she says.

"The hell it doesn't," Meiko sighs.

"I paid for those guns," she continues, walking slowly towards them. "You want 'em back? You're gonna have to earn 'em." She stops a short distance away from Meiko, who looks behind her shoulder at Kiyoteru, who has a hand placed thoughtfully against his mouth. He glances back at Meiko. Meiko looks back at the woman.

"How many cards we talking about?"

"Hah. I don't give a damn about ration cards. I need something smuggled out of the city," Luka replies. "You do that - I'll give you your guns back and then some." Meiko looks at Kiyoteru again, and he walks over to her side, his arms folded.

"How do we know you got 'em? The way I hear it, the military's been wiping you guys out." He walks forward to the woman. He seems doubtful, and rightfully so.

"You're right about that... I'll show you the weapons," Luka responds.

"Search the area!"

"Yes sir." The three of them jolt their heads, alert, to the sound of more army men.

"I gotta move," she says, slowly preparing to run. "What's it gonna be?"

"I wanna see those guns!" Meiko replies, looking at Kiyoteru and nodding.

"Follow me." They head off quickly. "We gotta get outta here, now."

"They locked it!"

"You want this deal, you gotta move," says Luka. Kiyoteru decides to check the area, in case there are any useful items lying around. He comes to a wooden table with empty shelves, but on the top are some bandages, a blade and 5 'parts' to upgrade weapons. He picks them up and puts them in his bag. He then follows Luka and Meiko up the set of stairs. "Through here. I know a way around this. C'mon." They turn left and head down a small ramp and come to a block of boxes and some sort of sheet material. Kiyoteru, Meiko and Luka with them jump over it without a problem. They then come to some huge boxes blocking the way, but there is a big enough space to climb up seems to be handling fine, despite the fact that she's got an injury on her side, right where her hip is. She pulls down a ladder as Kiyoteru jumps on top of the first box. They climb the ladder and turn a left then straight down on a metal sort of walk way. After turning some corners, Kiyoteru comes to more stairs and heads up them. They come to the roof of a building, and see a big explosion down by the city. "Holy shit. Is that your people?"

"What's left of them," Meiko replies. The thick smoke travels upwards, consuming the space around it. The remains of fire can be seen, and one can only imagine what chaos is going on at the location of the explosion.

"Why do you think I'm turning to you guys?" She sighs after talking. "This way." They hop down the roof and go onto another one.

"So why now?" Kiyoteru wonders.

"We've been quiet. Been planning on leaving the city, but they need a scapegoat. They've been trying to rile us up," replies the woman. The three of them head down a hill-type path way of the roof and turn left.

"Looks like they did," Kiyoteru says.

"We're trying to defend ourselves," Luka scoffs, sounding displeased with Kiyoteru's choice of words. They jump down into a building which looks like a warehouse of some sort. It's loaded with boxes and work tables, and general mess. Same old, eh? Kiyoteru walks up to a table and sees some parts, so takes them. They'll come in handy for upgrading weapons later, he figures. He also comes across a Shiv. He stuffs it into his weapon part of the bag, knowing it'll be useful to drive it into a person's neck when they least expect it. However, he knows that it only has a limited durability, so he will try to keep it upgraded. "Kiyoteru, gimme a hand with this." The woman is trying to open a heavy door, and needs help because she is getting a bit weak from her injury. Kiyoteru goes over to the door and grabs onto the metal part sticking out in the middle to pull. Luka is on the end of the door, pushing while Kiyoteru pulls it. They open the door easily with the two of them. They enter the door and turn right into a set of stairs.

"Hey, how you holding up?" Meiko asks Luka.

"I'll live," she responds. They come to the bottom of the stairs, to come to some sort of basement area. The walls are stained with what looks like fire burn, and more rubbish is scattered around. Luka hides behind a big crate, preparing her gun. It looks like they have company. Meiko and Kiyoteru stand in a line behind her. "Hold up; soldiers. That's the way out-" Luka motions with her head. "-door under the bridge."

"Ain't a big fan of these odds," Kiyoteru comments.

"We can sneak by them, even though I know that's not your style," Luka remarks.

"We'll see how it goes," Meiko says. "Let's get moving." Luka sneaks by quickly, followed by Meiko. Kiyoteru goes last and goes up to the next chest-high wall.

"We need to get to that door," Luka says. It's right at the bottom of the room, and they have to get past the soldiers. Kiyoteru continues to crawl carefully through the area, which is conveniently loaded with chest-high walls. There is nowhere to hide behind, but Kiyoteru manages to get past and reach the stairs. He goes up the stairs, only to be passed by Meiko who appears to be quicker than him at creeping along.

"You picked the wrong day to screw with us."

"Go fuck yourselves."

"Damn, we missed all the action." As the soldiers talk, Kiyoteru enters a storage room and goes through a door, leading to a place with more blockage. He quietly jumps over it and sneaks up behind the soldier. He grabs him around the neck and strangles him. Kiyoteru also notices that Luka has done the exact same thing to another soldier standing opposite of the one that he was strangling. Confusing, but there.

"Good. Stay quiet," Luka says. Kiyoteru walks through the door where the soldier had been standing and sneaked along. He notices some more bandages and blades lying around, so he takes them and puts them away. He walks through the top door and through the windows yet again without glass, he can see more men standing around. He hops out of the window and grabs a man. He strangles him and lays him down, hardly making a sound. Kiyoteru then continues on. He hides behind a big load of wrapped up warehouse goods, and sneaks behind the next soldier. However, he notices that a second soldier is walking down where he was going to go. He waits until the soldier walks by. But Kiyoteru then notices there was a _third _soldier there as he strangles the first. This hasn't gone quite according to plan, apparently. The second soldier shoots at him, and the third runs over to him. Kiyoteru instantly pulls out his metal bat and whacks it off the soldier's head then stomach and kicks him over, but takes cover as the second soldier shoots at him, just catching him. He watches as the second soldier tries to hide and catch them out, but Kiyoteru is too quick. He runs over to him and beats him in the head, sending blood to splatter everywhere as his head cracks open. The third soldier is now back up and shooting at Kiyoteru. Feeling himself getting low, he patches himself up with a med-kit. He then gets out his gun again and shoots the soldier just as he climbs out of the window. The soldier is left there, dangling half in and half out of the window, blood pouring from his head. Kiyoteru approaches the dead body to see that he dropped 6 bullets. He picks them up, loads them into his gun, and continues on with Luka and Meiko. They jog down some stairs and come to a door. A sign is above saying 'North Roughfare'. "Go on, get inside." Kiyoteru opens the door to the room and shuts the door as soon as the two women get in. Meiko and Luka shove a set of two lockers over the door so nobody else can get in.

"Where are we going, Luka?" Meiko asks, seeming a little fed up. Luka is doubled over, clutching her injury. She sighs heavily and looks up.

"This way." She begins walking again. "It's not far now." They all continue to walk through another warehouse.

"How you holding up?" Meiko asks, concerned.

"I'm running on fumes... But I'll make it," Luka responds. They walk through a door which has a sign above it saying 'Exit'. They're on the right track.

"Attention. Curfew is now in full effect. Anyone caught outside without proper authorisation will be arrested and prosecuted."

"Shit... We need to hurry," Kiyoteru says. They exit the building and walk straight back into another one. "What the hell we smuggling?"

"I'll show you," Luka replies. They walk up some more stairs and enter a new room. Luka comes to a door and attempts to push it open, but is too weak to handle it alone. She asks Kiyoteru for help, who accepts to help her open the door. The two of them shove the door open. Luka drops to her knees as the door opens.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... Come on now, get on up," Kiyoteru offers.

"Get the fuck away from her!" snaps a voice.

"Hey, hey, hey-!" Meiko yells, grabbing the girl's wrist. She was wielding a knife.

"Let her go," Luka says, getting up. Meiko shoves away the girl's wrist and glares at her.

"You're recruitin' kinda young, aren't you?" Kiyoteru remarks.

"She's not one of mine." The girl puts the knife in her back pocket and supports Luka.

"Shit. What happened?"

"Don't worry. This is fixable. I got us help." Luka looks over at Kiyoteru and Meiko. "But I can't come with you."

"Well then I'm staying," she protests.

"Yuki. We won't get another shot at this."

"Hey. We're smuggling _her_?" Kiyoteru asks, pointing at the girl.

**...**

_**Uugh. Sorry to do this guys, but I need to end this here. I've been writing for hours straight and need to end it off at here. I'll continue next time with the start of their adventures! :3 So yep, Yuki is the Ellie of this. Luka is Marlene and Meiko is Tess. Oh and Rinto is Bill, along with Mikuo being Robert. Not much else to say... Please review if you can! See you all soon for the next chapter.**_


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